Kikai Mushi
by Lithe-Fider
Summary: How did Shino’s bug user family, the Aburame clan, BEGIN? Go back two centuries, to see a glimpse of how Konoha's most unique family may have first began their close relationship with the kikaichu insects.
1. Chapter 1

This was something I thought of one morning sitting in bed, where/when most of my random fun ideas come to me. XD It's my thoughts on how I think the Aburame clan may have gotten started way back a century or two ago. Cause I was thinking, how in the world does a clan start where you have insects living inside your body? XD

…

I Don't own the series Naruto, Kishimoto does, I just borrow it on weekends, and flesh out the Aburame clan for him :P .

…

**Kikai Mushi**

…

Back before a yellow-haired, loud-mouthed ninja ran the streets of Konoha village, before the hokages, the ninja academy, even before Konoha itself…was a small spit of houses in the Fire Country forests that was almost too small to even be called a village. There, a few small family groups had made their home. All of them practiced the ancient ways of the shinobi, for self-protection, tradition, and usefulness. Some were more serious with the discipline than others.

There was a family with a tradition in sumo wrestling, who would farm and work along a group of deer-raisers. Both of these families gave much to the village, and were known for their good company and cheery demeanor.

There was family with a few members who had strange eyes, who could see like that of a hawk, if not better. Everyone knew they were they best hunters around (bringing back meat that they would trade to the rest of the village), so no one complained of their strange appearance. There was another group who had a single boy with unusual red eyes, who was training to become a skilled warrior. There was also a family of dog lovers and raised them to aid in hunting and protection.

The last family of the village was the smallest. They would meditate daily, practice chakra techniques while doing tai-chi (for the discipline, meditation and defense), and calmly tend their gardens as they raised their children. All were respectful and friendly in their demeanor. They were known for their knowledge of animals, having extensive chests of scrolls from generations past, all with information on the dangers or uses of various species. People in the village would come to them for information or medicines (which they made from herbs and various animal parts). Travelers would even come from far away for their medicines.

The small group however was most known for their especially unusual strong respect for insects. They had been seen sitting under trees and just _starring_ at a beetle for hours, or having butterflies come right to them as if called like a trained dog would be. They would make pottery or clothing embellished with insect imagery, and were never seen maliciously killing an insect, who also never seemed to touch their crops. Some said they could even _talk_ to them, saying it with a laugh, making a joke as to how much they loved them.

However, those in the little village did not know just how right they were, but they were soon to find out…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Within this group was a young husband and wife, whose last name was Aburame. Time has lost their names, but for sake of the tale, lets call him Kama and her Yuki.

It was a late Fall day. The forest all around was alive with sounds of songbirds and cicadas, getting in the last of their activity, knowing that winter was just around the corner. The chill of it was unmistakably apparent.

Kama was putting a small woven basket on his back.

"I'll be back soon," he kissed his wife on the lips.

"Be careful…okay?" She adjusted her kimono worriedly, her abdomon showing that she was with child, "I heard reports of wild boars in the area from the Hyugas."

"Hishi worries too much," he laughed.

She sighed, but nodded to her husband respectfully, watching him leave and go into the forest.

Near a small mossy spring a ways out in the forest was a crop of a special kind of mushroom Kama would gather for making medicines. They only grew near the spring, no one knew why. As he picked up a flat rock, a strange noise crossed his ears. He instantly froze and perked up his head, looking around.

It was silent.

He went back to trying to reach for a mushroom that was perched just beyond his grasp in a badger burrow…

…

…_Wait…_

(He thought)

…_it's too quiet._

He froze again. The noise from before returned and steadily rose in volume… quickly drawing nearer.

_bzzzzz…_

_Bbzzzzzzzzzzz…_

_BBbZZzzz…_

He gasped, he knew what that sound was. There was no mistaking it now. It was a swarm of destruction beetles.

Destruction bugs, or Kikaichu (Kikai mushi), were one of the most feared things outside of tigers, boars, and wolverines in their part of the world. They flew as swarms, attacking their prey en mass and devouring its chakra. This could be anything, from a bird to a human. They were the only known species to live solely on chakra as a food supply.

They would not always kill their prey by sucking it dry of chakra. When they reproduced, they would attack a larger prey, say…a wild dog. Instead of killing it, they would stun it, then a few hundred members from the swarm would bury into the skin of the animal, and lay their eggs within its torso, around the heart and other organs. The animal would be left by the insects unharmed physically, for they needed the host left alive to sustain the young kikai larva that would hatch two weeks later. The larva feed on the animal's chakra, having the rich supply of it they need to develop, while also being protected and kept warm. Within two days the larva pupate, and then within another few weeks a couple hundred young kikaichu rip through the animals skin. This usually kills it, and if not they eat the rest of its chakra anyway, and then fly off as a new swarm to repeat the cycle.

_Screeeeee!_

The recognizable black cloud of the destruction bugs flew into the clearing. Kama had had no time at all to run or even try to hide himself. He stayed motionless, knowing that reaching for a spell tag or trying to perform a jutsu would be useless. Destruction bugs were known for being intelligent and would dodge such ninja attacks, or swarm the person before they even had a chance to do so.

He had heard kikaichu swarms off in the _distance _before when wandering the forest. Kama had never encountered a destruction bug swarm in person. Those who do don't live to tell about it.

He felt his heart pounding in his ears. The swarm circled back, obviously seeing him, for it was coming right at him. In a futile moment of realization he was going to die, he cried out, begging for mercy,

"_Please don't kill me!"_

As if being frozen by an immobilization jutsu, the swarm stopped dead in its tracks. It continued to buzz softly, but just hovered there, starring at him. Kama stared right back; pulse racing. A bead of sweat dripped down his nose.

...

_What did you say?_

His lips parted in surprise.

....

_You spoke to us._

_...  
_

He then realized where the voice was coming from. It was coming from the kikai mushi.

It was no lie that he and his wife could speak to insects. They had learned how to do so much by accident, in their close interactions with them over the years. It was strange, it was like speaking, but without audible words. You could say it was telepathy, but it just would not be the right word for it. It was like a frame of mind, a feeling. What they would hear from beetles or butterflies in their gardens was not words like speaking to another person, but more like emotions, ideas, concepts. Rarely a concrete, grammatical sentence. Only large beetles or praying mantises gave any kind of real conversation...But all the same, they had discovered the secret of insect language and had taught it to some of their small family group, who used it graciously to tell bees not to sting, flies not to bite, or bugs not to eat their gardens.

Kama had not thought trying to speak to a bloodthirsty destruction insect group would ever work, so it had not crossed his mind as a resort in the 5 seconds he had to think from when he first heard the buzzing of the swarm to when they were descending upon him. But as he cried out, he must have also done so in insect language.

And what he heard he had not recognized as the bugs talking, since it was so specific, so…almost as if talking to a human. Still, it was very feeling-based…but, he had never heard such aptitude from an insect before. The rumors of destruction bugs looking intelligent were indeed true, they were more intelligent than he could have imagined.

....

_Speak…!_

"_What…should I …say?"_ Kama replied shakily,

He was growing less panicked and now more curious.

_You can understand us!_

He nodded slowly.

...

_We understand you…_

…_how?_

"_I…don't know. We, my family, just can."_

His situation gravely came back into his mind, _"…I have a wife…and she's pregnant."_

…

"_Winter is coming, she will need me…please…I beg of you to let me live…"_

The swarm slowly drew closer to him, and settled onto nearby rocks and bushes. He stayed in his kneeling position where he had been frozen in fear minutes before, but was steadily relaxing. He watched the small beetles as they came within a distance that he could see them as individuals. A few came closer than the others, and crawled up onto his hand and pant legs. He watched them closely, understandably nervous. It was like having a wild tiger nuzzling your arm. But now he felt no aggression from them. They did not seem violent at all, completely opposite from what history said of them, from how they seemed a few moments ago.

_...Your offspring and mate need you to survive this winter._

_We can understand that…yes._

_We won't kill you._

_You are…different._

Kama blinked. He was still absorbing how intelligent they were. _"T…thank you."_ He didn't know what else to say.

...

…_But…_

_...  
_

He felt a pulse of worry resonate through the group.

_Winter is coming for us as well…_

_We have traveled far._

_We have not found any large hosts for our young. _

_Many of our group are too old and frail to survive the cold winter. _

_We must lay our eggs before it grows cold…_

He parted his lips again…

_We don't want to kill you…_

_...you are interesting…_

_...  
_

They continued to move closer to him. He was growing slightly uneasy with so many crawling on him, but he felt no drain on his chakra.

_In exchange for your life -_

_You must help us._

_...please…_

He brought his hand up in front of his face, and gazed at the many small, blue-green eyes looking back at him. They looked so sad. So…incredibly conflicted. He had always seen flickers of human-like nature in the eyes of larger, more calm insects or spiders before, but this time it was more than he'd ever seen.

"_What can I do to help you?"_ he said, quite sincerely.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"…" Yuki starred at her husband with a look of utter disbelief, shock and horror.

He had walked into their home, quite calmly, with a cloud of destruction beetles whirling around and crawling on him.

She at first did not know whether to run and get help, scream, or ask him what was going on.

Luckily for her, he spoke up first.

"Yuki, don't panic, it's alright. They won't hurt us."

"T…the deadly kikaichu swarm you mean?"

"Yes, I was able to speak with them, they can understand me just like how we talk to insects around the village. Only they are so much more intelligent! They are like unlike anything –"

He paused in his talking as slowly some of the buzzing insects flew out and inspected Yuki. They flew around her, some landed on her, waving their antennae about. She carefully watched them, quite understandably nervous.

...

_Can you understand us too?_

_...  
_

"Kama, did you say-"

"No dear, it's them."

"What…?"

…_We don't know if she can…_

_We can hear her young's heartbeat!_

_We like her hair…_

"Hey, be careful…!" she yelped out in insect language, not knowing if she liked the feeling of them crawling into her hair or on her pregnant belly.

The insects stopped quite abruptly, and buzzed off of her.

_She can!_

_Interesting…_

"Wow...they really are very fluent," she blinked.

"I know."

"But, aren't they dangerous? They can devour a full grown human's chakra within seconds…as the records say."

"They have promised not to harm us."

She was getting a strange feeling from her husband, "What…are you getting at?"

He paused, then started , "In exchange for sparing my life, I am going to act as a vessel for their young for the winter. They were going to eat my chakra as energy to use to go and find a larger host for their young, but since they don't want to kill me, _and have taken a liking to me…_they are now without either food or a host for their young. Winter is coming, and they told me they need to lay their eggs now or their swarm will die."

She stayed silent for a moment, processing all this, "Act as a host for their young?" She remembered from their records of destruction bugs they needed to lay their eggs within large animals for the young to feed on and grow in to mature properly.

"Yes."

"And…just for the winter you said?"

"By the time it's spring again the young will be mature and fly off to start new group...as they've explained to me. I should be fine, they said as long as I speak to the young they should emerge carefully and not eat all my chakra, and just harmlessly leave."

"This is…all a lot to take in…" she put her hand to her head.

"I know, I'm sorry. There was no other way…otherwise I wouldn't be here for you and our baby," He drew closer to her, and hugged her close. She felt up slowly and embraced him in kiss.

The kikaichu in the room, most of which who had taken to resting on any available chair, table, plant, or shelf, roused up in a seemingly interested buzz. It was as if they were as a group saying "ooooo…"

_...Interesting..._

_Their chakra changed..._

_We've ever seen humans interacting before._

"_Hey…"_ Kama spoke out. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Did I just hear what I think I heard?" she whispered to him.

_Bloodthirsty "destruction bugs" indeed_ …he thought.

That night, the kikaichu performed their 'ceremony' on Kama. He could still not believe what he was doing, but there was no other way, and he truly wanted to help the bugs, as their feelings of sorrow and worry hit him deeply.

He remained fully conscious and watched as the fifty-or so mating pairs of the insects crawled up onto his exposed skin, and buried themselves into his chest and back. He winced as the feeling. It was strange, for it did not hurt but was indeed not a pleasant or normal feeling. He could feel all 100-some of them crawling under his skin and bury deeper into his body, through his tissue and muscle, but somehow not harming him. He figured they must be doing some kind of complex tissue-healing technique using chakra, how else could they dig through a body and not cause internal bleeding or intense pain?

Within 20 minutes, they emerged again through the holes they had chewed, and he stared and was amazed at them closing them up right before his eyes. Indeed they were using chakra like some kind of medical nin. _They can use chakra like humans do in ninja techniques, amazing! _he thought, T_he records never said anything like this_. _Only mystical otherworldly summons, spirits, or special ninja dogs were known to use chakra like this, but never a small animal such as a beetle._

The kikaichu swarm was just about to leave, but Yuki spoke up suddenly, having been silent all evening_, "Won't you get hungry…? Don't you need energy to fly and find your next prey?"_

The swarm considered her for a moment.

"_Take a little of my chakra…"_

_We don't want to harm your child._

She looked up in surprise at the feeling of worry and care coming from the swarm.

"_Then have some of mine."_ Kama spoke up.

The kikaichu were conflicted, they indeed were hungry…very hungry, but they didn't want to harm either of the interesting humans they had encountered, one being the host of their young.

_Just a little…_

...the insects agreed.

The husband and wife nodded.

The black buzzing cloud flew in towards them, and gently alighted on their skin. They stood still as they little beetles crawled on them, practically coating them like a blanket. They avoided Yuki's protruding abdomen. The two of them could feel the pull on their chakra, and the slight drain on their energy, but true to their word the insects did not take much, and before the couple knew it the kikaichu flew up.

_Goodbye._

_...Thank you._..

And left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Winter was unusually cold that year.

Yuki watched her husband carefully, looking for signs of any kind of trouble.

Both of them kept what happened a secret. Not even the rest of their clan knew about it.

He didn't show it (as he was good at hiding his emotions if he wanted to) but Kama could _feel_ it when the eggs hatched two weeks later.

It was a very small feeling, but he could most definitely feel the wriggling of the kikaichu larva. He was not sure whether to be intrigued or disgusted by the sensation. He didn't have much time to think it over, because within another week he could feel that that they had pupated and become small, juvenile beetles (as the wriggling sensation disappeared and was replaced by a slight vibration and prickly feeling). He did not know how long they would take to grow to full size, all he did know about that was they should be ready to leave his body by the end of three months, and would leave as the first warm hints of Spring came.

The young inside him, which he figured there to be at least 3000-some of, finally responded to his attempts to talk to them by the end of the second month. He was quite surprised at what they said…

_Wo dat there is?_

…_eh?_

_Hehee!_

_Did you hear something?_

_We dunno…_

_Like talking to a child…_he mused with a slight laugh.

His first thing was to ask them to not take so much of his chakra, as he had been feeling weak and unable to practice his ninjutsu properly. They seemed to happily comply for the most part. He still felt weak…but it was a most definite change for the better.

By the end of the third month, Kama was looking forward to the little kikaichu leaving in a few weeks, for his muscles in his torso ached from their increased movement and size. Yet…he had somewhat grown to like their interesting vibrations…and they had since learned to speak quite clearly and only when spoken to.

It was nearing close to spring, but the last frost had not yet come.

"I'll be back soon," Kama kissed his wife on the lips. Yuri was now quite obviously pregnant, and figured she was due by mid-Spring.

"Be careful," she nodded with a smile.

Kama carefully plucked herbs from a plot of moss on the ground in the forest. This certain herb only grew in the late winter months. As he was going about his work a, sudden jolt ran through him, he looked up, alert.

…

_Something is coming_

_…_

He looked around, jumping to his feet. He had never felt the kikaichu warn him of something before…

He didn't have time to think, as he was knocked down from behind, a massive weight felling him to the ground. He moaned from the wind getting knocked out of him, and looked up to see a muscular, tan body circling back around in the clearing.

It was a mountain lion. A large one.

His body froze stiff with fear. He dared not reach for his knife, a sudden move may make the cat strike. He figured on using a ninjutsu technique to transform and confuse the cat…but…

The cat lunged forward, fangs bared.

His achy body could not react as fast as he usually could. It still would not have mattered, his had not caught his breath, his muscles fell limp under his commands to get up and run away. It was then that he felt a massive angry vibration well up from his chest, so much so that it became audible to outside ears. He cried out. His skin ripped open in a number of places, from which a very unhappy-sounding swarm of destruction bugs poured out. Albeit only 3000-some, it was enough to stop the cat mid-strike as they swarmed onto it, giving Kama just enough time to roll out of its path. The cat thwacked to the ground, and rolled to a stop.

Within 10 seconds it stopped writhing and screeching.

It was dead.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

Kama breathed, and shakily sat up against a tree.

He watched as the cloud of insects swirled back to him, their demeanor completely different. Their small, audible little insect calls were like a strange sort of purr.

_Screeee!_ They all cooed.

He sat breathing and heart pounding, watching the insects for the first time with his own eyes (as they had never ventured out from inside him before). They crawled over his skin, the ground around him, and buzzed about in the air.

"_You saved my life",_ he said, still in shock.

_You were in danger_

_We can't let anything hurt our host_

_We need you_

…

_We like you…_

…they added more softly at the end.

Kama couldn't help but smile at the feeling of contentment he felt from them as a group.

…

Spring came a few weeks later.

The kikaichu remained.

Yuki did not question it.

Kama went back to practicing his ninjutsu, but went through his tai-chi less vigorously because of his muscle pains. The moment he began his practice the kikaichu stirred with interest.

_What's that?_

_What are you doing?_

They said in not so many words.

And so Kama explained about ninjutsu to them. They listened intently…

…

Mid Spring, he was jarred with a strange feeling.

_It's mating season…_

The insects abashedly informed him.

_We should be seeking out hosts for our young this time of year._

_...  
_

The insects were calmly informed after a silence to not worry about finding other hosts.

Summer came.

The kikaichu remained.

Yuki had her baby, a healthy little girl.

The heat of late summer came.

Kama fell ill with a fever.

Yuki questioned him.

"I've noticed those destruction bugs are still with you,"

"…they are."

"Were they not supposed to be able to leave by spring?"

"Things…happened."

"I know, I remember. You said they saved your life,"

"That's not all of it."

He explained to Yuki about how he had been including them in his ninjutsu training. The kikaichu were able to manipulate chakra as well as any human. They could create clones as believable as usual ones, but with using a tenth of the chakra. They would alarm him of danger while in the forest long before he could ever sense a thing (They had since saved him from bandits twice that summer). Also the fact that they could swarm onto any enemy and eat their chakra. And this was only the beginning of what he had discovered…

"Imagine what else we could do together!"

Yuki was also excited about what he had told her. But, she then lowered her yes, "But…what is it doing to your body? You've grown so pale since winter, and you've lost weight…"

"I'm fine."

"You are not fine! Those insects are eating you from the inside out…"

Kama clenched his teeth and Yuki could swear she heard a not-too-happy insect-like noise welling up from him. He went to say something back to her, but just shook his head and left.

Fall came.

When Yuki held Kama close she could now obviously feel their vibration from within him.

His aches grew worse…but Yuki kept her faith in her husband's judgment.

Winter came.

A pair of sunglasses on him became a usual sight.

Yuki did not question it.

Spring came.

Yet his high-collared winter coat remained.

Yuki questioned him…

"Kama…" she sighed.

"Hum?" He replied not looking up from his book.

"…I was a little curious about the sunglasses…but now the jacket?"

"What?" he looked up. All of his face that she could see was his eyebrows and nose bridge.

"If you are going to hide your face from me, can I at least see your eyes?"

"…" he starred at her.

"It's like…you're trying to hide something from me. I can't remember the last time I saw your eyes since you started wearing those glasses."

"…" he looked down.

"And that's another thing, you're much more quiet."

"I…I'm sorry Yuki, you're right…" he motioned for her to come closer. She sat next to him.

"At least you seem to be feeling better…" she smiled.

"That's true, I am." He smiled back, not that she could see it, "I just have to tell you…I love you, and I trust you. You…have not questioned me much this past year and I thank you for it."

She put on a somber expression, the way he was talking it sounded like he was going to tell her he was dying or leaving her or something.

"Kama, what is it?" she said seriously.

He reached up and un-buttoned his jacket, then slowly slipped off the glasses.

She couldn't help but gasp, it was like a reflex.

Where Kama's eyes should have been were two dark eye sockets.

"I was right when I said they were eating you from the inside out this summer…" she said softly with a hint of horror.

"No, Yuki, it's alrig-"

"You're BLIND how is that alright?!" Her frantic tone was very uncharacteristic of her. He had rarely seen her lose her cool.

He remained calm, hoping it would translate to her.

"I can still see."

"H…how?"

He continued to look at her.

"The insects?" she said questioningly.

He nodded.

"…" she breathed, and hugged him, not knowing what else to do. He embraced her slowly back, nuzzling her head. She could easily hear the insects moving about inside him from where her head was on his chest.

Summer came.

Their clan neighbors began to question why he trained alone in the forest.

One of them followed him secretly.

Rumors began to spread.

One morning, they approached Kama.

"Kama, you've been acting…strange."

"Strange?" He looked at them as if he had no idea what he was talking about.

"Training in secret…keeping to yourself…"

"The sunglasses…"

"The coat in the middle of summer."

He looked down.

"You seemed ill all past season."

"Not quite yourself…"

"You are more quiet than usual,"

"I'm fine." He said defensively.

"We know about it Kama."

"…about what?"

"You are using insects in your ninjutsu…we are just not exactly sure what though…"

"You can tell us."

"We're worried about you."

He stayed silent, and raised up his arm. From inside his long sleeves crawled a few of the kikaichu along his hand. The crowd gasped and some stepped back as they realized what kind of insect it was.

"Those are destruction bugs!"

"It's okay!" Kama reassured them, "They won't hurt you."

"But…aren't those dangerous?"

"They can kill a grown man in under 10 seconds!"

Kama motioned to one of his fellow clan members who he had taught insect language to. Within minutes, no one in the clan was backing away, all were grouped closer, intrigued and interested. By that afternoon, a strange tone fell over the little clan.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kama had showed his fellow clan members what he and the kikaichu inside him had learned together.

Insect clones, shields, and restraints. They could be used as camouflage if they covered an object and flickered their chakra to match the surroundings. His senses were heightened and the insects themselves could sense danger and react faster than a human could. They could be sent out as scouts and bring back information. They could be sent out as a group and do tasks as well, even being able to carry heavy loads as heavy as 100 pounds when a large enough swarm worked together (Kama by this time had many more than just 3000 kikaichu inside him, as they had bred and multiplied over the course of last season).

Also, the obvious and most powerful aspect that they could swarm onto an enemy and devour their chakra.

However, there were other reasons for him keeping the insects past last spring…

Kama did not tell the others, as he did not dare even admit it to himself…but he… _liked_ the sensation of the insects. The feeling of them moving about in his guts, their noises, their vibrations. He enjoyed their company, and felt safe with them protecting him. He was forever intrigued by their intelligence and their abilities and couldn't wait until what they could discover next.

He wasn't the only one. The kikaichu themselves had a similar sentiment. They enjoyed Kama's company, his guidance, the things he taught them about how to use chakra. The varying flavors of his chakra with his moods, the safe warmth of his body, the sound of his heartbeat. They never had to worry about finding their next meal or a host to raise their young, and all through the winter they were kept warm and protected. It is no surprise they were more than happy to give a few of their lives in the protection of him.

By the time five years had come to pass, Kama was not the only one who had kikaichu living inside him. He was now one of three.

It was no surprise they soon wondered if it was better to start the training early. So kikaichu were given to young children. Kama's daughter was the first. They found out it was much more successful, as three adults died trying.

From that point on only children were given the insects.

All of the insect users came to wear sunglasses to hide their 'eyes' and coats to shut themselves off from the world. They wore them not only for their loose-fitting feel (as their skin was more sensitive to touch and pressure with thousands of bugs living under it) and to hide tears and wounds from the early years of the insects finding the best pathways through the skin, but also to give a sort of air of warning to others. A 'look but don't touch' mentality, as a overzealous pat on the back could be painful in early years.

By the time ten years had passed, it was no secret to the rest of the village what the little clan was doing. Some protested it, many cried out in fear and disgust. They were appalled to hear that three had died trying. But as nothing changed except for their manner and dress, and no angry swarms of kikaichu attacked the village, people came to accept it.

They could never understand the relationship they had with the kikai insects.

The insect users discovered in time they could be used in tracking (using a female insect and planting it on someone). The insects could, with training, learn to remove toxins from the body or break it down harmlessly. They found the kikaichu could heal wounds or tears in the skin using a weave of chakra, this translated into healing battle wounds. They were also amazed to find out one year that the insects were unaffected by most genjutsu.

In twenty years, the clan took on a name, the Aburame clan, all taking the last name of Kama and his family.

…

More techniques developed as different individuals were passed the kikaichu baton, each more unique than the last.

…

Kama's daughter buried her father, and became the clan leader. She passed on kikaichu to her son, and him to his son, and him to his daughter, her to her son, and so on.

…

In many decades, the spit of houses grew into a large village, and was founded by a man who was the most powerful earth-jutsu-using shinobi anyone had ever seen (who would be come the village leader and later hokage) and four clans, the Hyugas, Uchias, Akimichis, and the Aburames. They were still the smallest clan of the group, but certainly not ignored. It was no surprise these powerful and unique clans yielded ninjas who earned the village respect and power, having it come to be the Hidden Village of the Leaf not too long after (named for the many trees and natural landscape of the village, sculpted by the first Hokage).

…

It could be hard to think that people could so easily give their bodies (and loss of their eyes) at risk of dying to act as living hives. To consciously decide to have insects crawling and breeding inside of you and ripping through your skin. But the small clan was not your normal group of people. If it was not already for their strong respect of insects and calm, determined nature, such a relationship between kikaichu and humans could never have come to pass.

But as the years passed, those early, unsure days were forgotten, the clan's namesake and founder became only a distant memory, a figure who stood as the trailblazer of one of the most bizarre, unique, feared, and respected clans in Konoha…

…and the Aburame clan continued passing on kikaichu to their children,

not simply because it was a tradition,

and not only because it would grant them a unique protection and power,

but because it was what they chose;

a gift, a relationship they wanted to share with the next generation.

…

…

**From the author:** Wow, that just rolled out of me. XD I hope you enjoyed it, _reviews are always appreciated_ to know there are people out there who also enjoy the Aburames. I encourage you to check out my other Aburame fics if you enjoyed this one.

Thanks for reading!


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